Hey readers, hope you're enjoying this Jedi Storytime. After this one, I'll be working more on my Oliver & Company inspired tale "Omega & Company," which will be another Clone Wars/Encanto crossover.

"What can I say except we're dead soon?" Quinlan sang flatly as he lay flat on the boat while Ahsoka was rowing, and the others were sleeping. Even the alicorns. Fantasia's golden hair dimmed until it was silver like the moon as she slept.

"Can't you at least try?" Ahsoka said.

Quinlan sighed and touched his hook, turning into every animal except the one he wanted.

"Okay, break time is over." said Ahsoka.

"What? Are you gonna give me a speech now? Tell me I can beat Lavadera because I'm 'Quinlan Vos'?"

That was when Ahsoka caught a glimpse of a tattoo on Quinlan's back very different from the others. This one looked like a woman throwing a... baby into the ocean.

"How do you get your tattoos?" Ahsoka asked.

"They show up. When I earn them."

"How'd you earn that one? What's that for?" Ahsoka pointed to the baby tattoo.

"That's man's discovery of Nunya."

"What's Nunya?" asked Ahsoka.

"Nunya business."

Ahsoka raised an eye marking.

"I'll just keep asking." She said. "If I wake Myra, she'll ask even more than me. She's got a big mouth. A very talkative big mouth."

Quinlan said nothing.

Ahsoka tapped him with the oar a few times.

"Stop that." Quinlan said.

"Is it why your hook's not working?" Ahsoka asked.

Then, Ahsoka played with his hair in the oar, and Quinlan grabbed the oar and threw Ahsoka in the water again. But, the ocean brought her back again.

"What's it for?" Ahsoka asked one more time.

But... Quinlan still didn't speak.

Ahsoka sighed.

"You don't wanna talk, don't talk." she said. "You wanna throw me off the boat, throw me off. You wanna tell me I don't know what I'm doing... I know I don't. I have no idea why the ocean chose me. You're right. But my island is dying so I am here. It's just me and you right now, and I want to help, but I can't if you don't let me."

Quinlan remained silent. Ahsoka sighed.

"I wasn't born a demigod." said Quinlan. "I had human parents. I was a Jedi, like your people. When I told them I didn't want to go through with the betrothal ceremony, they took one look at me and decided they'd rather not have me at all than have a son who broke tradition. The night before I would've been betrothed, they threw me into the sea like I was nothing."

Ahsoka couldn't believe what she'd heard. Was it possible the same thing happened to Qui-Gon's sons when they refused to go through with their betrothals? She couldn't believe that would've happened. She knew for a fact that Qui-Gon loved his children. Why would Quinlan's have done such a horrible thing to their own son?

"Somehow, I was found by the gods." Quinlan continued. "They gave me the hook. They made me... Quinlan. And back to the humans I went. I gave them islands, fire, coconuts. Anything they could ever want."

"You took the heart for them." said Ahsoka. "You did everything for them. So they'd love you."

"It was never enough." Quinlan said, looking down sadly.

Ahsoka took a seat beside the demigod.

"Maybe the gods found you for a reason. Maybe the ocean brought you to them because it saw someone who was worthy of being saved. But the gods aren't the ones who make you Quinlan Vos. You are."

Quinlan looked at Ahsoka for a moment until she got up and went back to sailing. Then, he looked more determined to make his hook work right.

Starting the next morning, the others helped Quinlan practice regaining control of his shapeshifting abilities. He started small, by shifting into small bugs and small animals. And little by little, he got better and better.

Fantasia made the sun shine brightly to light the way, and Dream Heart made the wind blow to keep the ship moving. And they kept following the map to find the island on which they believed they would find Forsythia.

"Isn't Naboo Island one of the hardest to get to?" Zatt pointed out. "You know, rough seas and stuff?"

"Not the waters surrounding the actual island." said Dream Heart.

"Naboo Island was always Forsythia's favorite." Fantasia said. "Naboo is known to be home to a very peaceful folk, filled with beautiful plants of all kinds, and the people are famously known for being excellent swimmers."

"Sounds like paradise." Myra said.

"It is." Fantasia said. "And hopefully the darkness hasn't hit it yet, so we can find our youngest sister."

Ahsoka watched the position of the sun and felt the direction of the wind before steering the ship in the right direction.

"Hey, D.H. A little speed, please." said Ahsoka.

"You've got it." smiled Dream Heart, and she blew the sail in the requested direction.

They headed on their way.

Ahsoka looked at Quinlan as he hung from the mast and smiled at her.

"I figured it out." said Quinlan.

"Figured what out?" Ahsoka asked.

"Why the ocean chose you." Quinlan said, coming down. "You know, the ocean used to love when I pulled up islands."

Quinlan and his magic tattoos told the story of how when he pulled up islands, it made the ocean happy when Ahsoka's ancestors would sail out to find them. And so did many other tribes.

"All those new lands, new villages. It was the water that connected them all." said Quinlan. "If I were the ocean, I think I'd be looking for a Togruta princess to start it all again."

"That is literally the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Probably should've saved it for Lei Reigna."

"Whoever you're betrothed to must feel so lucky."

"Don't get me started on that." Ahsoka said. "I didn't even want to be betrothed to anyone even after I learned who I was about to be with."

"Neither did I." Myra said.

"Are you engaged to twins or something?" Quinlan asked.

"We almost were." Ahsoka said. "Human twins. One of the elder chiefs' sons. And they took a canoe, probably trying to run away, and then disappeared."

"Allegedly they were the greatest warriors of the tribe." said Myra. "But like I keep telling Dad, I don't need a man to take care of me."

"I don't even have a betrothed yet, but I don't even know if I wanna marry." Zatt said.

"Many tribes have already stopped doing betrothals, to my knowledge." Fantasia said. "Why hasn't yours?"

"Our people haven't done any voyages in years." Ahsoka said. "Very set in tradition. Only my parents married for love because Chief Plo Koon is actually my stepfather. Both my parents married their betrothed, were widowed, and so they married by choice afterward."

"My parents were lucky to fall in love after they were betrothed." Zatt said.

"My parents were miserable for the longest time." said Myra. "It was only when they found out they were having me that they finally did fall in love, only for Mom to die in childbirth."

"I guess it's no wonder your dad is so protective of you." Ahsoka said. "Not that I agree with all of his behavior. If any of us do marry, I think I speak for all of us when I say it should be for love."

"You'd be right." Fantasia said.

The boat travelled into the night, the kids getting even more practice navigating by the stars, and getting better and better. However, that was when the winds started to get a little out of control.

"Dream Heart, can you tone down the breeze?" Zatt asked.

"I'm trying!" said Dream Heart.

Dream Heart found that she couldn't control the winds. Uh oh!

"We must be heading closer to a dark sea!" Dream Heart said. "It's one of few places where our powers aren't as effective!"

The boat started to rock back and forth as the sea got rougher and rougher.

"Only one way out of this mess." said Fantasia, getting Myra on her back. "Everyone, hop on!"

Zatt climbed on Dream Heart, and Ahsoka got onto Fiesta. And Quinlan used his hook to become a pegasus, and they all began flying as the ocean wave flipped their boat over and destroyed it!

"We're gonna have to fly the rest of the way!" Dream Heart said.

Unfortunately, the wind got even stronger, making it harder for the equines to fly and stay on course. And the waves got even bigger and stronger. The horses tried to fly higher, but the waves did not let up.

Myra screamed as a wave got to her and Fantasia.

"Myra!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

She steered Fiesta down and tried to grab her friend's hand, only to get pulled into the ocean herself! The others tried to rescue them, but the waves continued to grab and thrash the group all around for who knows how long. Those who couldn't breathe underwater or weren't immortal gods had to gasp for breath every chance they got.

And before any of them knew it, everything went dark again.

Ahsoka was the first to open her eyes, and she found herself underneath a blanket, completely dry.

And she saw her friends laying under blankets too.

Ahsoka gasped, not knowing where they were.

"Don't be afraid." said a new voice.

Ahsoka looked up and saw a woman she didn't recognize. She was very beautiful. Curly brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, and she was dressed in green with a lei of pink flowers and a crown of white seashells.

And in came another woman, also in green. Darker hair than the other woman, blue eyes, and she too had a pink flower lei as well.

"You are all very lucky children." said the second woman, getting some medicine and gently feeling Myra's head to make sure she was recovering correctly.

"Where are we?" Ahsoka asked.

"This is Naboo Island." said the first woman. "I am Padme, queen of this island. This is Caroline, our tribe's healer."

"Our husbands pulled you out of the water last night." Caroline said. "And don't worry, your horses are all okay too."

Ahsoka felt strong enough to get up, and she took a peek outside the hut.

The outside was amazing!

There were so many beautiful flowers and plants growing all around. Pink flowers, red flowers, yellow flowers, palm trees, hanging vines, sundew, coconut trees. So many things. Even more plants than Manta-Jedi grew in an entire year.

Myra soon joined Ahsoka in viewing the plants.

"Wow!" Myra gasped.

"Myra! You're okay!" Ahsoka said, hugging her friend.

Quinlan suddenly screamed from somewhere!

"That sounded like Quinlan!" Ahsoka said.

And the two girls ran in the direction of the scream and they found Quinlan being strangled by a bunch of vines!

"Why does every horse I run into attack me?!" Quinlan said.

"You know very well what you did, Vos!" Forsythia snorted.

"Is it just me," said Myra. "Or do the sisters get more violent form oldest to youngest?"

"Who would've guessed the youngest one would be the most violent?"

"Hey! Princesses! Get this filly off me!" Quinlan begged.

"Forsythia. I am Ahsoka of Manta-Jedi." Ahsoka said. "Please stop attacking Quinlan Vos. We travelled a long way looking for you and your sisters. We need you and demigod Quinlan to restore your mother's heart."

Forsythia glared back at the demigod.

"It's true. Your sisters came with us." Quinlan said, wincing as the vines squeezed a little tighter.

"Where are Fantasia and Dream Heart, anyway?" Myra asked.

Two little girls were laughing as Fiesta, Fantasia, and Dream Heart played with them.

Myra and Myra soon arrived and saw the horses playing with two little girls. One of them had a white hibiscus in her hair, and the other had black hair and wore a yellow hibiscus in her hair.

"Looks like they're having fun." Ahsoka smiled.

"Gabby, time for dance lessons." called a voice.

"Lamenta." called another, sounding very much like the other.

The little girls ran over to a pair of guys. A couple of identical men. Both had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. However, one had waist length hair, and the other's was shoulder-length. Both of them also wore necklaces made of wooden beads, each with a different hand-carved charm of a dolphin or a bird.

Ahsoka froze when she looked at the two.

"Hey, you look familiar." said Ahsoka.

The twins looked at the two girls with recognition in their eyes.

"Ahsoka, is that you?" said Anakin.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka said.

"Carmine?" said Myra, looking at the other man.

"You're both alive!" Ahsoka smiled, hugging her old friend. "We thought you were..."

"We thought so too." Anakin said.

"What happened to you guys?" Myra asked.

"It's kind of a long story." said Carmine.

Eight years ago...

"I cannot believe they're actually making us do this!" said a fifteen-year-old Anakin. "Betrothed to a couple of little kids?"

"I know. If we had to be engaged, couldn't they at least find girls closer to our age?" Carmine said.

"That's not the point, Carmine! They're forcing us to get married to girls we didn't even choose and who probably don't even understand this ourselves. It isn't fair."

"Then why isn't Dad doing anything about this?"

"He's tried so many times. The other chiefs just won't budge. Mom and Dad got lucky, but have you seen how miserable Chief Koth is with his betrothed? They still don't have kids, and still won't end it already."

"Well, what can we do? Our betrothal ceremony is tomorrow!" Carmine said.

That was when Anakin had an idea.

"Unless we don't show up."

Carmine thought his brother was crazy.

"We can't hide. They'd just find us and drag us to the ceremony."

"Unless we went to the one place no one on this island would go."

Carmine looked scared now.

"You don't mean...?"

"Beyond the reef."

"But that's suicide! We'd never make it."

"Well, would you rather get forced to marry someone you don't even know or love? Do you want your kids to have to go through that? Or do you even want kids?"

Carmine looked down and thought about what his brother was saying. Myra was much younger than him and probably didn't even understand what was happening or even want it. And he knew that his kids would likely hate him and Myra, assuming they had kids in the future, would likely hate them for forcing them into an unwanted marriage like Anakin did with the chiefs right now.

So, without any hesitation, the twins found a canoe that could handle bigger waves.

Anakin wrote a note to his father and the other chiefs.

Dear Father,

Carmine and I are both very sorry to have run off this way, but it was the only way we could get through to anyone. We both respectfully refused to be betrothed to people we did not select ourselves, and were told that we had no say in the matter. Therefore, if those are the laws of this tribe, we are leaving Manta-Jedi behind and seeking our own paths beyond the reef. Give our former betrotheds our best wishes. We wish you all the best.

Sincerely, Anakin and Carmine Jinn

And so, the twins made their way on their canoe, rowing themselves beyond the reef, only to run into rough waters.

The twins did their best to keep up, but were soon thrown into the water, where they nearly drowned.

However, they both woke up the next morning in the care of two lovely women. A then Princess Padme Naberrie and young Caroline Mitchell, who'd seen their boat in trouble a distance from their island. And so, the two of them swam out and pulled the twins out of the water and nursed them back to health.

"A few years went by, and we each fell in love." Anakin said. "I married Padme and became the new king when she was crowned queen."

"And I married Caroline." Carmine said, starting hula class. He looked at Lamenta and Gabby as they were dancing with the other kids. "And now, we each have a beautiful daughter. Lamenta there is mine."

"Mine is Gabriella." said Anakin, smiling at his little girl.

Zatt soon joined the conversation.

"And those necklaces you wear?" Zatt asked.

Anakin held his beads and the dolphin charm.

"These were my marriage beads on the day I married Padme." Anakin said. "A woman I chose, and who chose me in return. I've never been happier."

"And you never returned to Manta-Jedi because-" Ahsoka began.

"Because if I did, they would try to make me end my marriage with the woman I love and marry you." Anakin said. "Yeah, they told us before they told you."

The elder half of a betrothal was typically told who they were going to be betrothed to before the ceremony, as each betrothal ceremony happened once a child turned fifteen.

"Don't get me wrong, Ahsoka. Since you were little, you were an amazing girl. But, I love you more like a little sister."

"The same can probably be said for me with Myra." Carmine said. "But to be fair, we didn't talk much then. Still, I've never been as happy with anyone as I am with Caroline."

Ahsoka thought about what the twins said as she looked at the children. And when she saw the little girls run to their mothers when they saw them, their parents coming together and looking so happy, she had so much on her mind. The twins really were like her.

They didn't want to follow their tribe's traditions and decided to go beyond the reef. But they didn't return because they were dead or ashamed of their deeds; they stayed because they found the people they loved, and that was where they truly felt at home.

"If only Chief Qui-Gon could see them now." sighed Myra.

"I think he would've been so proud." Ahsoka said.